


You're Just Too Good To Be True

by Wle0416



Series: Malex Week 2020 [2]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alex is the best realtor, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Malex Week 2020, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, Trope Day, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:08:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25264369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wle0416/pseuds/Wle0416
Summary: Alex is a realtor, and Michael is the sexy client he wants to get to know even better until miscommunication sets in.Written for Malex Week 2020. Day 2.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: Malex Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828741
Comments: 21
Kudos: 96





	You're Just Too Good To Be True

Is there a law against asking your former client out for dinner?

It's a question Alex had been pondering for weeks, as his business relationship with Michael Guerin was slowly coming to a close. Michael had been looking for a single-family home on the outskirts of Roswell, and Alex was one of the top real estate agents in all of southeastern New Mexico.

From the moment they met in Alex's expansive office, there was a spark. Michael was the dictionary definition of tall, dark, and handsome, and Alex started falling for him the minute he saw those gorgeous coils on top of his head and that megawatt smile.

And besides being breathtakingly gorgeous, Michael was kind, and his personality clicked with Alex's sarcastic nature. They spent hours together touring properties and going over the numbers, but they spent more time just talking about everyday issues and bonding over the many things they had in common.

Alex had a rule about not getting too friendly with his clients because specific rules should never be broken. But the more and more time he spent with Michael, the less he cared about some silly rule put in place years before he'd met a man like Michael Guerin.

It took Michael nearly two months to settle on a home, an immaculate rancher sitting on about five acres of land. It was everything Michael had been looking for and more, yet Alex felt like he had to twist his arm to pull the trigger.

At first, Alex thought he was losing his touch, but then he wondered if Michael just didn't want the little relationship they forged to end.

Alex could relate.

Typically, after the deal was secured, paperwork signed and his client got the keys, Alex would head over with a bottle of champagne (or sparkling cider) and a smile. He would stay for a few minutes to wish them well and thank them for trusting him with one of the most significant decisions of their life.

He and Michael are on their second glass of champagne when Alex decides to blurt out the question he's been formulating in his brain for weeks.

"Would you want to grab a bite to eat sometime? Like, together?" Alex could kick himself for how un-smooth he sounds. He wishes he could blame it on the champagne, but that just isn’t the truth. 

Michael's face takes on a severe shade of red, and he looks down at his absurd cowboy boots before responding. "Um, yeah. I could always eat!"

Alex isn't exactly thrilled by Michael's response, but he doesn't say no when he very easily could have. So, Alex takes it as a win and settles back into the champagne and the comfortableness that has enveloped him since the two men came into one another's orbits.

**********

Their dinner date is scheduled for Friday evening, and on Thursday night, Alex heads to the drug store to pick up a couple of things. As he's perusing a row of hand soap, a man inadvertently bumps right into him, causing both of them to drop their baskets.

"Wow, I'm sorry," the clumsy gentleman pleads, as both men lean down to pick up all their belongings.

Alex is annoyed, but he pushes the feeling down and plasters on an amiable smile. "It's fine, really."

"I think this is yours," the man hands Alex the bottle of lube he had picked up, you know just in case, and Alex has to duck his head for fear his face has caught on actual fire.

As if the moment can't get any worse, Michael appears at that very moment, and he only has eyes for the man who doesn't watch where he's going. "There you are. I can't remember which Bed Head conditioner you like? There's like three different kinds in the shower."

"Mikey, it’s been five years. How do you not know which one I like best?"

Alex goes entirely still, and he knows his eyes are bulging out of his head. It takes Michael a little while to realize that Alex is standing a few feet away from him, and when he does notice him, he smiles awkwardly. 

"Alex, hey," Michael says nonchalantly.

"Hey," Alex manages to croak out. "I'm in a rush. I'll see you."

Alex runs out of the store so fast he swears his Converses have left skid marks on the floor. Damn the lotion, pack of razors, and that single bottle of lube. There was no way Alex could stand to be in the same store as Michael Guerin and his boyfriend.

A wave of nausea flows through Alex once he's settled in his car. He begins to think about all the times Michael had taken phone calls and excused himself while they were touring properties. He thought he was just polite to step away, but maybe there was more to it, and Alex was too lovestruck to notice.

And he spoke more than once of a man, he thinks the name was Max, but Alex never thought much of that either.

But seeing Michael and the man together, there was a familiarity there that went beyond friendship.

As he makes his way home, Alex's upset stomach slowly turns into bitterness, he begins to wonder why Michael had spent so much time with him if he had a boyfriend the whole time. Alex didn't imagine the way Michael's gaze always lingered on his lips a hair too long. Or the fact that he would go out of his way to meet up with Alex to discuss things in person when a short phone call would have been plenty sufficient.

Alex was many things, but he wasn't delusional. There was a connection between the two. Or there had been.

Again, Alex was many, many things. But he wasn't about to involve himself with a man who was taken. 

**********

Michael calls Alex later that evening, and Alex lets the call go to voicemail. He's already down two glasses of wine, and he doesn't trust himself not to say something he can't take back.

Alex had decided he would cancel the date the following morning and claim he'd been up all night with a bad stomach virus. It seemed like a pretty believable story, and hopefully, Michael wouldn't press the issue.

In all honesty, Alex thought he should be relieved that he didn't have to go on a pity dinner date with his clearly desperate former agent.

The chime on Alex's phone breaks him free of his pity party.

_Michael: Hey. You dashed out of the store pretty quick. Everything okay?_

Alex was afraid of this. Even though he was a questionable boyfriend, Michael was surely going to check in on him because that's the kind of person he was.

_Alex: I'm good. Was in a rush. Heading off to bed now._

Alex is hoping that will be the end, but within seconds the chime is back.

_Michael: Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight._

Alex considers just telling him now that he has to cancel, but he decides to stick with his plan of waiting until the morning.

He goes to bed dejected, thinking about Michael in bed with his klutzy, Bed Head loving boyfriend. The two of them laughing about the fact that Alex thought he stood a chance with someone like Michael. 

****************

Alex sends the text to Michael as soon as he wakes up the next morning.

_Alex: Hey. Been up all night with some kind of bug. Going to rest today. I won't be able to make it tonight._

He's hoping Michael won't see it right away, but no such luck.

_Michael: Oh okay. I hope you feel better._

Alex sighs, and he's partly glad and partly sad that Michael doesn't follow-up with anything else. As much as it pains him to think it, it is probably for the best that this is their last communication.

Seeing as it's a Friday, Alex usually works from home, and he considers not leaving the house, in case he were to run into Michael, but he deduces that the chances are small considering Michael should be at work all day.

Around lunchtime, he goes out for a walk around the neighborhood, taking in the beautiful weather and getting in a little exercise. It would have been a beautiful night to enjoy dinner at the Italian place downtown with outdoor seating.

When Alex rounds the corner and heads up his driveway, he stops dead in his tracks when he sees Michael standing on his front porch. He has a bag in his hand, and when he sees Alex clad in workout clothes and decidedly not dying from a mysterious stomach flu, his face falls.

"Michael. What are you doing here?"

Michael holds the bag up in the air like it's obvious. "I was bringing you some soup."

"Oh," Alex says it out loud even though he doesn't mean to.

"Yeah. But it looks like you're doing much better already," Michael remarks. He sounds hurt, and Alex feels like the biggest jerk in the world for all of five seconds before remembering why he lied to Michael in the first place.

"Must have just been an overnight thing."

Neither one speaks or moves for a solid thirty seconds until Michael breaks the tension and decides to get real.

"If you didn't want to go out with me, you could have just told me the truth. You didn't have to lie."

Alex can't help the snort that escapes him. "Are you serious?"

Michael looks like a deer in headlights. All confusion and no sense. "Yes?"

"I think you know why I canceled."

"I actually don't. But I'm all ears, Alex."

Alex is equal parts confused and ornery at this point. "Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend? Better yet, why would you agree to a date with me if you have a boyfriend?"

About fifty different emotions flitter across Michael's face in the span of a moment. When he finally speaks, he appears to be on the verge of laughing. "Are you talking about Max?"

"Is that his name?"

"You're talking about the guy from last night, right?"

Alex's patience has run out, and that lovely sun from a little while ago is starting to feel stifling. "Yes."

At that response, Michael bursts out laughing. An honest to God deep belly laugh that makes him look even sexier than Alex thought possible.

"I'm sorry," Michael croaks out between laughs. "That's just the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life."

Alex stays still and lets Michael get his laugh on, while suddenly feeling like he's about to go back to feeling like a jerk again.

"Max is not my boyfriend. He's basically my brother. We grew up together, and he let me move in with him five years ago after I sold my airstream. His girlfriend moved in a few months back, and that gave me the push to start looking for my own place."

Alex begins to wonder if the sun can get thirty degrees hotter in the span of sixty seconds because his forehead is now dripping with sweat.

Michael continues. "I thought we connected over these last few weeks. You must know I went out of my way to spend as much time as possible with you. And I was looking forward to tonight, now that the business is over."

Alex finally moves his feet and walks into Michael's personal space. "I was looking forward to it, as well. And I feel like the biggest idiot in the world."

Michael still has a small smile on his face, but there's a bit of sadness in his eyes. "I just wish you'd said something last night. We wouldn't have had to go through all this."

"I'm really sorry."

The men stay staring at one another, and after some time, Michael finally reaches out to playfully tap Alex on the shoulder. He hands him the soup bag. "Chicken noodle. It's the only soup I know how to make."

Michael walks away towards the end of the driveway, and Alex wants so badly to call after him and continue to apologize, but he feels like he needs to let Michael just take some time.

He starts to head inside when he hears footsteps approaching him from behind. He turns around, and Michael has now invaded his space.

"Did you cancel the reservation yet?"

"No."

"Well, you know, I could always eat," Michael says with a wink that almost takes Alex's breath away.

"Then, I'll see you at eight."

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :)


End file.
